Government Provocations Against
New Brunswick Public Sector Workers
Workers Holding Strike Votes to Defend Their Rights
Press Conference, September 3, 2021 in
Fredericton to denounce government's demands
for concessions.
On September 3, the Canadian Union of Public
Employees -- New Brunswick (CUPE-NB) announced
that the New Brunswick Government has flatly
refused workers' demands for wages they deem
acceptable to stop their continued
impoverishment and to address the retention and
recruitment problem in the public sector.
Union and government negotiating teams recently
met for five days at a centralized negotiating
table over the demands of 22,000 members. The
government dismissed the workers' demands for a
significant wage increase. CUPE reports that the
government persisted in offering unacceptable
wages and that its offer was also made
conditional on workers making concessions on
other matters.
The government offered a 1.25 per cent increase
per year over a four year contract and 2 per
cent per year for the next two years if the
union agreed to a six year contract. The offer
is similar to one that nurses, represented by
the New Brunswick Nurses Union, overwhelmingly
rejected a few weeks ago. This is well below
inflation and is an actual wage cut, which is
what public sector workers have faced for the
last 15 years. Successive governments have
imposed wage freezes and wage caps. CUPE-NB
President Steve Drost told the media that years
of wage increases that have not kept pace with
the cost of living have forced many public
employees to take on second jobs or leave their
jobs altogether. Others can't keep up with rents
that are rising far faster than their wages, he
said.
Meanwhile, the government made its offer
conditional on concessions in pensions,
severance pay and moving some unionized
positions to management positions. The
government asked that members of some locals
give up their defined benefit pension plan for a
shared risk model. It also asked that the
severance package that some locals have in their
collective agreement be eliminated for new
workers. CUPE-NB President Steve Drost explained
that these severance packages were negotiated in
the past in exchange for workers foregoing wage
increases. In a conversation with Workers'
Forum, he called the government's position
"unacceptable, a divide and conquer approach and
an insult to workers."
On September 3, the government walked away from
the bargaining table, slandering workers that
they are the ones who do not want to negotiate
and are harming New Brunswick taxpayers. Given
that it is government pay-the-rich schemes which
are harming taxpayers and undermining public
services, these arguments are contemptible. The
government wants to have a free hand to further
privatize health care and public services to
enrich narrow private interests. In
defending their demands workers are defending
public right.
Labour Day marked the end of the 100 day
CUPE-NB campaign to get satisfaction for their
wage demands. Over 22,000 workers will be taking
strike votes in the coming weeks across the
province.
Workers' Forum fully supports the fight
of New Brunswick public sector workers for wages
and working conditions they deem acceptable.
Workers' defence of the dignity of labour is
defence of the public and its right to modern
quality public services. The government`s
insensitivity to the problem of retention and
recruitment in the public sector and of workers
leaving the sector and even the province shows
that it considers workers disposable, which puts
workers and the public at risk. Let us go all
out to support the just struggle of the New
Brunswick public sector workers!
This article was published in
September 8, 2021 - No. 80
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08803.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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